A tradition of Bricks and Milk

• 

What better way to celebrate 100 years of the Indianapolis 500 with this picture from the early days of the track when it consisted of some 3.2 million bone-shaking street-paving bricks. Approximately 90 percent were Culver Blocks, manufactured by the Wabash Valley Clay Company. Gradually the bricks were replaced by asphalt and today there’s only a small strip left at the start/finish line.
At the time we write this, there’s no way of knowing who will be the victor of today’s race, but we’re sure that at the finish he (or this year hopefully a she) will have the customary glass of milk, a practice that was started by three-time Indy-500 winner Louis Meyer who happened to drink some in Victory Lane after winning the 1936 race. The gesture was picked up by the (then) Milk Foundation who recognized a perfect advertising opportunity when they saw one. There was a period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently no longer offered, but the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since.

(picture from the Indianapolis Centennial program)

Kommentar abgeben...